Pages

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Find a Friend Friday and Ask The World a Question...

Hi everyone!! I had every intention of doing the Friday feature of Find a Friend Friday, but a very bad case of vertigo stole my whole day away. Seriously, worst day of my life. Feeling much better just nauseous beyond belief.

I digress...

Well, instead of missing Find a Friend Friday all together, I decided to combine it with another feature post..."Ask The World A Question". That was a big hit last time and it was requested in the ideas for 2013 post.

Here's what you do...For Find A Friend Friday...

You are just linking your blog so friends can find you and you can find friends too!!

If you are new to Find a Friend Friday (FaFF), you are in for a treat! It's a simple linking party to add a link to your blog so new friends, who may not know about you, can stop by and visit.

This is an easy one to participate in...you are just linking to your own blog. No Pressure!! No projects to sew, no furniture to paint, no cookies to bake or pictures to take. You are just sharing your blog and then friends will stop by for a looksy.

click on the blue "click here to enter" link at the end...way at the end, after the last blog that has been linked

copy and paste or just type in your blog address...example: http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com

enter title of link...your blog name or phrase to grab attention

add a photo of you, your profile picture or your blog button or whatever you think will grab some one's attention...(I'm thinking a picture of a big piece of chocolate cake, but that's just me LOL)

That's it...super easy. Have fun checking in on all the new blogs that are linking up each day!

For Ask The World A Question...

All you do is ask a question in the comment section. Someone who reads my blog from all over the world can answer under that question by clicking in the "reply " button. There are so many helpful people in the world who can share so much...some have blogs, and some do not. I thought this would be the perfect solution for everyone to ask any question and then we can all help!!

104 comments:

Good morning Karen! The linky tool seems to have not inserted itself. Will come back over later today to check on that.

My question for everyone is:

Does anyone have a good recipe for homemade rubbing spices for fish? I am working on getting healthy this year and the rubs you buy in the grocery store have so much salt in them...enough to kill a horse as the old saying goes. Or if you buy one that is salt free but is still delicious, please share. I would love to see what some of you use.

Hi Connie,There are several quilting-related apps that you can check out.The apps I use regularly are The Weather Channel (it's better than the standard app that is on the iPhone IMHO), Weight Watchers, Gmail, Groceries (by Sophiestication Software), RedLaser, Craftsy, Pinterest, and Facebook!Those apps are enough to keep you busy for a while! LOLHave a great weekend.

I like to use Lookout which scans all of your apps or anything you download to check it's safe. It also keeps an eye on where your phone is and if you lose it or it gets stolen you can block your phone fully (it can't be re-set except by you on the Lookout website) or you can tell it to screech even when it's off. It's one of those apps that's just for peace of mind, it's not for fun and games but if you ever lose your phone it becomes useful! x

Some that I like are S Memo (you can write a quick note with your finger like writing or type a note and save them), Yelp (great for searching for nearby food, hotels, gas, museums, stores, etc close to your current location) Kindle app (can read my books on it if I don't have my Kindle with me - great when you end up with time waiting for appointments, etc.), Dropbox (can put files in the dropbox either of my 2 computers then open them on my phone-great way to share photos with family or friends if you want or make lists on the computer or keep track of flight information) Flow Free game app (puzzle app that is a good time filler...waster?)

Good Morning and Happy New Year to everyone. I have a cooking-related question. I'm tired of making the same meals for my family, and could use some different options. What is your favorite go-to marinade that you use for your meats? Also, what is your favorite easy-to-do crock pot recipe? Thank you for your ideas!Sylvia in Leesburg, Virginiawww.sylviasstitches.com

Sylvia.. When I cook steak I use Dale's Marinade. It is a black liquid... You shake the bottle to mix all the spices that float to the bottom. But be warned... When the liquid is about an inch from the bottom, it can get very salty... I usually throw mine away at this point and open a new bottle.

Our favorite easy recipe is pork and kraut. Just take 15 oz of kraut and 6 pork chops. Place a light layer of kraut on the bottom of the crock (basically, you want a bed for the first layer of pork chops) then strategically place three chops on top of that. Lightly sprinkle with garlic powder. Spread half of what is left of the kraut and repeat with the remaining chops (we use boneless so we don't have to deal w/ bones) and top with remaining kraut. Cook on low for 8 hours and serve on buttered noodles. Yum!

The best easy crock pot recipe I've ever come across is for pot roast. Buy a pot roast. It doesn't have to be an expensive cut. Salt and pepper it and rub it with flour. Put into the crock pot (don't need to brown it) and add 1 can of tomato sauce. You can use the one with Italian spices if you want, or not. Cook on low all day.

It comes out with a mostly brown sauce that is just amazing and it literally falls apart when you cut it. If you want it to say together more so you can cut nice slices, just let it sit on the carving board for about 15 minutes.

a great marinade for chicken is - crushed garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. simply chuck it all in a zip-lock bag, seal the bag, massage it and sit it in the fridge for a couple of hours (or even put it in the freezer and cook it another day)

A favorite Marinade I have for chicken in 2 parts italian dressing 1 part honey, yummy. I have even injected it in my thanksgiving turkey. A fav crockpot recipe is a pork roast with kraut and kielbasa, the kielbasa is totally different cooked this way. Here is the link http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pork-roast-with-sauerkraut-and-kielbasa/

Also try the recipes from thepioneerwoman website, the marlboro man sandwich and her bacon wrapped meatloaf are the bomb!!

My favorite marinade that everyone raves over and can be used with anything is 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup oil, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1 tsp basil, 1 tsp oregano (you can vary the amount you make, just keep the proportions the same). My favorite blog for recipes is http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/, although I agree that Pioneer Woman's recipes are the bomb!

Linkies are appearing and disappearing all over Blogland, in my experience. Sometimes they're there, sometimes they're not. I don't think it has anything to do with the personal blog, or browser used, or even the person - sometimes some people can link and I can't see anything!

My question is about steamers. Does anyone find them worth the extra money. Do they save on dry cleaning costs? Does it clean as well as steam? Also, any good banana bread recipes out there? I lost my favorite recipe for it.

I've got a steamer. It's one of those all in one multi dudes. It steams the carpets, hard floors, windows, clothes, upholstery, bathrooms, burnt on goo etc and I love, love, love it! It cost me £99 here in the UK for the steamer, the mop attachment and all of the other attachments. I hate the thought of harmful chemicals so for me it was a great investment. If you like the smell of cleaning products you may not love it, there's no scent at all. I'm not sure if you can add scent but then that negates the fact it's just water! x

Oh this will be my first ever linky party! When the link starts working :) My blog is only new, and im wondering, how long did it take everyone to get even a few loyal followers? I'm blogging to noone at the moment and it feels a tad silly!

Karla.. You may have readers that you do not know about. Click on Design at the top right corner of your blog and then click on stats. This will tell you how many people have come through your blog so far. They may not have hit the follower tab but they will eventually. It took me 4 years to get to where I am. Don't stress about blogging... That was the first rule I had to learn...

Like a "Field Of Dreams" said "Build It And They Will Come"... well blogging is kind of the same way... "Write it and they will come". :)

Add your blog to QuilterBlogs and that may help you get more traffic. Everytime you post on your blog, QuilterBlog grabs your post and it appears on their site along with 1,000's of other blogs. It isn't automatic as they crawl every so many minutes but your post will eventually show over there.

I've blogging for nearly 3 years now and it took weeks (maybe even months!) to get my first comment and first follower. You're doing the right thing by visiting and commenting on other blogs and getting your URL out there. Oh and Thearica - thank you for the suggestions about Quilter Blogs! :-)

Karla, my blog is a slow one as I don't post on a regular basis. Many times, people will view your blog but not post a comment. I have found that the more 'popular' blogs have loads of pictures, tutorials and how to's. I'm sure your blog will take off soon....

Heyya! My name is Jenn. I'm sad to see that the link didn't appear, but thats okay. You guys definitely have some interesting questions though!

My question:

For those of you into photography, where did you get started? Did you read some books? Take a class, or what? I really wanted to be a photographer, but have NO idea where to start. ((I am also a crafter and wanna tie that into it as well))

I have slacked off with photography lately, I must admit. I took a non-credit class offered by a local university. I enjoyed the first class so much that I signed up for the following one. In the future I plan on taking a course on photoshop. The very first thing that the instructor told us was to READ the USER MANUAL! He told us about a guy that started winning some awards a few years back and when asked about his training he reported that he had none. He said that he simply read his manual before ever starting to take photographs. I wish you the best of luck with all of this. The class that I mentioned was a little over $100 and around 6 2hr sessions.

Craftyminx (sorry - can't find her url, but you can google it) had an amazing series of posts last year called Crochet School. Her videos were fantastic and I learned a whole lot just by watching and doing the "homework" between each class.

This is nagging at me....What would you do? To help out another blogger who was having financial difficulties, I purchased items from her on-line garage sale. The items never came, and after emailing many times for a refund of my $60, I keep getting the "Checks in the mail" response.....and now, no response at all! It's long past the deadline that Paypal gives you for disputes. Do I give up? Do I chalk it up to life-experience? Do I never trust another blogger again? I'm a trusting person and I was trying to help her out! I don't want this to change me.....but this has been nagging at me for over 8 months! What would you do?

It's too bad your deadline has passed, because that's what I would have done. But given that you seem to have no other recourse, I would write to her one more them and let her know I'm going to blog about it and name names. Give her two more weeks, then do it. That's what I would do, and I have done it before. I don't want to be mean-spirited, but I don't like being lied to, cheated, and stolen from either. I figure others have a right to know so that it doesn't happen to someone else.

Regan, I think what I would do is ask myself why I purchased the items. If the primary reason was to receive items, the advice you've already received may be of help. If the primary reason was to help someone who was less fortunate, you can walk away from the situation knowing you met your goal. Yes, you were wronged, but you did the right thing. You can not control the actions of others.

When people approach me, begging for money for something to eat, my first choice is to go with them into the store or restaurant and buy them food. Sometimes, though, that isn't practical, and I occasionally give cash. While I would be disappointed and sad if the cash were not used for its stated intent, I know that my motives were pure.

So, I guess if I were you, and I purchased the items primarily to help out a fellow blogger, I would drop it, chalk it up to experience, but try not to let it tarnish your view of humanity. There are plenty of trustworthy people out there. You acted in good faith. I would think twice before giving to that particular person again--the people in the grocery store parking lot who approached me on two separate occasions with the same "broken down car" story did not get my help--but just because one person lied to you does not mean that most people will also be dishonest.

This experience does not need to change who you are. You can continue to be a trusting, caring person. If you can view your transaction with her as a charitable donation, rather than a purchase, you might be able to let go of it a bit easier.

Happy New Year. I got a new Mac for Christmas. (lucky me) Previously I had been using a PC and Windows LIve Writer for writing my blog posts. Is there a program similar for Mac users? I know I can just use Blogger, but Live Writer had some neat functionality that I was hoping a program for Mac would too.

Good morning everyone, I've rejoined the living after an extended bout with family ;) and flu and I have a computer question. I cannot for the life of me get LinkWithin to work on my Blogger blog. I've followed the steps and looked for help, emailed the website (no answer)what am I doing wrong? DO I need to turn something on/off? Clues or directions appreciated.

I just tried this once more and it worked! Click on Other platforms, get widget, copy the html code. Then go into blogger under layout, select add a gadget, add html code, then copy the code into the field, add the LinkWithin title and save. It works! I have been trying to figure this out for months! Good luck to you!

My question has to do with my two year old daughter. She has used a pacifier basically since she was born. She is so attached to it and calls it her "pie pie". I want to break her from it but every time I try to take it away she throws a HUGE fit. I have three older children and all we did for them was take it away and they each eventually forgot about it, it won't work with Charlotte. I take it away and she'll spend hours and hours crying and searching for it.

My son gave up his pacifier very easily but the bottle (bubba) was a whole different ball game. One afternoon I explained to him that at his age the "Bubba Fairy" should be visiting anytime. I told him that there were lots of other babies who need bottles & that if he collected all his bottles and hung them in the bushes the "Bubba Fairy" would come & take them to other babies. Plus, the fairy might leave a little treat for being so generous.It worked like a charm! He was so excited to run around and collect all those bubbas. We put them in a bag & hung them in the bushes. The next morning there was a different bag in the bush with new sippy cups.Good luck:)

We did a similar technique and had the paci fairy come. She gathered up her pacis, we wrote a note to the fairy and the next morning was a new pair of pajamas with pink elephants (her favorites!) I will say that the first night we read extra stories and cuddled in the rocker for almost an hour. And we gradually reduced the time each night for the first week- after that she was home free. She doesn't even bother with her younger brother's pacis. Good Luck I know it's tough!

I agree with Candice. Kids at his age are still into magical thinking and I used it a lot with my three. My two-year-old son (who is now 31!)kept on wanting to have me carry him all the time. The first two kids had to let go of me carrying them because I became pregnant and you know how difficult it can be to carry them. Then the newborn sealed the deal.I started when my son was around two-and-a-half years and told him that when he turned three I couldn't carry him around. I also told him I could always pick him up and give him hugs and more nice substitutes. I repeated it enough through the six months that when he turned three he just stopped asking to be picked up! Otherwise, I would have just reminded him and then gave him a big hug.

We waited until the pacifier was damaged and had to be replaced. Instead of replacing it we asked our son to put it in the bin and then watched the rubbish truck take it away (he loved trucks so this was perfect). He accepted that it was gone and didn't ask for it again. I think we were very lucky!

Bottles are easy to get rid of. Start by diluting the formula or juice until it's just water, then they won't want it any more. As far as the pacifier goes, I would just make it disappear. They will get over it soon.

Thanks for the advice, everyone! I think we'll try the pacifier fairy idea. We talked about doing that when we wanted to break our oldest daughter several years ago (she ended up just letting us throw them away though). If that doesn't work, they will just have to disappear.

I'm very excited as this is the first time I've ever joined a link party! I love the idea of all the questions, they have been fun to read through:)

Here's mine: Can anyone recommend some yummy smoothie recipes including ones with coffee? I keep trying to make my own & they're just not turning out quite right. Either they don't blend well, the consistency is wrong, etc. Thanks!!

Ooh, I hope someone posts a good coffee smoothie recipe. Unfortunately, I won't be of much help since I don't have any good recipes. I usually just throw stuff in the blender: frozen berries, plain Greek yogurt, some juice and maybe a handful of ice. I just add juice or water until the smoothie looks the consistency I like.

Thanks Jen Marie! It sounds like you're great at eyeballing the consistency, maybe I just need more practice:) I'm hoping for good coffee ones because I love a good Iced Capp from Tim Hortons but it would be so much cheaper to make them at home. I'm definitely going to try adding Greek yogurt though - it sounds great! Thanks again:)

Hi all! If there is anyone reading from Norway/Finland/Sweden....could you please let me know about traveling there? Specifically...how hard would it be to get around and communicate since I only speaking English? My husband knows a little Finnish...we want to visit Scandinavia, but we're a little nervous too. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

We've been to Scandinavia on a small group tour. The languages were not a problem. Everyone there is mandated to take English as a second language beginning in third grade. Everyone was friendly and helpful. Totally loved the Norwegian Fjords.

I have 2 SIL in Sweden and we've been traveling to Scandia pretty frequently for the past 25 years. Everyone speaks English so you won't have a problem communicating. I don't know a lot about Finland but we spend most of our time in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. The rail system and public trans is excellent in Sweden and Denmark. Copenhagen and Malmo are very kid friendly and as Leslie said, don't miss the fjords. We love going there. It's also a great gateway to the rest of Europe.

This might be a tough one. When I was a child, umpteen years ago, my grandma used to make this great dessert. It was sort of like jello/pudding but it had "bubbles" (as I called them) in it. It seems to me like they were very large tapioca pieces. They were about the size of a kidney bean. When grandma died, I went through her recipe box, but never found the recipe. I'd love it if anyone could give me any leads to this recipe.

My question is not crafting related, but I wondered if anyone has any tips for getting rid of and managing neck tension. I suffer with chronic migraine and crochet, crafting and computer work trigger my neck ache which in turn triggers migraines.

I get neck strain a lot too and I go to my chiropractor and I feel tons better in a day or two. I go once monthly when I am being good and I dont have any issues... I get slack when I dont have issues and then have to get back to my monthly visit.

This is one thing a physical therapist told me to do to relax the neck muscles. You slowly lift your shoulders upward (ike your lifting them up to the height of your ears). Do this as you slowly count to 10. Then count to 10 as you slowly lower your shoulders back down again. This helps if you remember to do itonce in awhile when you are doing things like knitting or on the computer for some time ect. I have a lot of neck problems that cause headaches and dizziness. Even went to a chiropracter and he made it worse by trying to pop the bones in my neck then afterwards told me I had a ruptured disk in my neck. After I got out of there I kept blacking out for a week when I would stand up.I tried tens too. Needless to say I don't let any one touch my neck anymore. But maybe these things would work for you.

I am a quilter/sewer recovering from a broken wrist. Six weeks in a cast and now three weeks into hand therapy. Anyone relate? I can sew on my machine for a short time before fatigue sets in. The big question? How long before I can safely and accurately handle a rotary cutter?

Thanks Karen for doing this and your easy to follow direction. This is my first Linky party.

My question to the world:

My husband and I turn 50 in 2013 and instead of the norm b'day party, we decided to donate 50 pillowcases per month to ConKerr Cancer and get friends and family involved. We kicked off 2013 with a New Year's Eve party and we got 120 pillowcases done! So January and February quota has been met. We want to get more involvement so that we can exceed our quota each month. So the question to the world is: how to get the blogging world involved and maybe have people donate at least 1 pillowcase each? Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks again Karen for doing this. Carmela in PA

Carmela... This is a wonderful thing you and your family are doing... and you dont have to look very far into blogland to find tons of blogs already making pillowcases... Quilters and sewers everywhere are making pillowcases.

If you want your blog followers to help you with your quota, put a post on your blog to see if you get any takers.

What do WordPress users find is the most effective tool for listing followers? I used to have the Followers button but things changed and only Blogspot users could use that one. So all my follower list was wiped out. I haven't replaced it yet and would love some ideas.

I love to read all the quilting blogs. I have started one of my own (just about a year ago) but have only posted once as it is very intimidating. My goal this year is to just start blogging and hope that someone will read it.My question is: After reading so many blogs I feel as if I don't get much quilting done. How does everyone get so much quilting done? I work only 35 hours a week and it is just my husband and I now at home. You would think I would have lots of time to quilt and sew but it is just not happening.

Hi Renea! I can relate to not getting a lot done, I have the same issue with scrapbooking. I find that if I set some realistic goals for myself I can get more crafting done. I love blogging & browsing other blogs but sometimes I get so caught up in the giant internet hole that my crafts get left behind. These days I limit myself to shorter times on the computer and then I have more time to craft. As for your blog my advice is to jump right in! I prefer writing the same way I would say it out loud, it just feels more comfortable. Just start posting anything you're working on or interested in & eventually other crafters will find you. It helps to browse other blogs & become a follower of the ones you like, that usually gets your own blog out there a bit. And of course, link up to as many linky parties as you can find! Good luck:)

Has anyone tried using a Wiybia bar to increase social media? It's worked great for me. You can download it for free at wibiya.com, click on manual installation if you are using blogger. Happy New Year!

Hi everyone, I've seen lots of bloggers design items in Photo Shop but found that the various Photo Shop programs that I have seen are very expensive! Does anyone have any suggestions for what I should use? Thanks.

I can't seem to reply to a question by clicking reply so to 27. Sharon - I have cut up tshirts for yarn and have two crochet round rugs in progress. Just basic single stitches. I say in progress... Because I've run out of tshirts to cut up :)

I love the ask the world a question idea. Here's my question:How do I help my 3-year-old girl to initiate going to the potty? She will almost always go if I sit her on the potty. She will initiate going to the potty if we are at a restaurant or a store. She will tell me she has messy diaper only if we are heading out the door or if I have asked her to do something she doesn't want to do. She has everything in place except the want to. We use cloth diapers, so the uncomfortable feeling (I imagine is there) doesn't bother her.

Hi Cheryl, we just went through this with my grandson. Get the diapers off! Big girl panties are a good incentive, of course put the diaper back on for going out. To make it easier on him we didn't put pants on for awhile (around the house only of course!)so he didn't have to worry about zippers, snaps, buttons etc. Also, it helped to set a timer and send him to the potty say, every half hour. They also have old fashioned thick cotton training pants to be more absorbent if you can't stand the puddles!

Cheryl, I agree with Patti. Get her big girl panties. And use incentives for telling you she has to go. A start chart would be a good start. And big girls get to do big girl things. You want to stay away from negatives like babies use their diapers. Instead tell her big girls use the potty all the time and get to do big girl things. HTH

I have tried the panties in the past. At the the time, she was happy to pee and poop in her panties. I did this until we were out of clean panties. I tried the panties the other day. She did well with me reminding her to go. We had a chart and incentives, but she still did not initiate. We did put on a "nap-time diaper." The next day, she screamed and cried that she did not want to wear panties. I was coming down with a cold and ended up picking up my other daughter from school for a fever. I didn't have it in me to force the panties. So, I am not too much further along. I do think the panties are the way to go, and I have to just buck up with cleaning up puddles. Any idea of how long it took you before the puddles weren't an issue and your potty trainer was self-motivated?

LinkWithin

About Me

Hello, my name is Karen. I've been married to a wonderful man for 27 years and we have 2 beautiful daughters who are both in college. I am a dental hygienist, but I love to blog, sew, quilt, craft, rearrange furniture, shop in consignment stores and drink tea and coffee all day long! Hope you can join me on this blogging journey...I have sew many things to share!